Vol De Nuit Eau De Toilette

(Rating based off the vintage perfume; read to the end for thoughts on the new formulation) There are two stories to Vol de Nuit. The first is a tale from long ago, and far away. When, in 1933, Jacques Guerlain composed this green floral amber he recycled some materials he’d used many times up to that point, something Guerlain in those early days did very frequently (they composed more flankers in the first 100 or so years of their existence than anything else, but that word wasn’t part of our lexicon yet). The Guerlinade is very much present in Vol de Nuit. The opening contains Guerlain’s signature powdery and misty bergamot, which is always lovely to smell. But, what stands out the most is a green galbanum note, and an orange blossom note that is quite vivid for Guerlain. Bracing excitement and invigoration. In the movements to the heart and the base more of the Guerlinade becomes apparent: typical floral middle notes of carnations and roses, followed by amberic balsams and vanillics - all kept to the Guerlain timbre of lightness, breathability, powderiness, and class. There are three additions that steer Vol de Nuit to a different direction: iris, narcissus, and violet. Thanks largely to the iris in particular, Vol de Nuit’s floral pals relay a “coldness” - think, mainly, the rooty and woody side of iris - that creates an odd contrast to the warmer florals and ambers. It is warm, inviting and heartfelt thanks to the ambers, but also steely, determined, and a bit-uptight thanks to the iris, narcissus, and violet. It is very striking, and certainly one of the most interesting perfumes Guerlain created in that first 100 year period. This also means that it’s one of their more divisive perfumes. Maybe that explains tale number two, from not long ago or far away - very recently, in fact, at one of my local retail counters where I purchased a new formulation of Vol de Nuit EdT, batch code 2023, and found it to be quite awful. Guerlain has seemingly abandoned VdN. The green galbanum, hesperidic, and beautiful orange blossom top is still there, but very short of energy and life; a fleeting couple of minutes at best. Once they disappear, it’s a straight-shot down to the amberic and powdery vanillics, which is where the perfume stays for the entirety of its embarrassing and embarrassingly short life. The heart, both literally and figuratively, of Vol de Nuit is gone. You can sort-of bring the heart back to life if you go really overboard on application (for me it was more than 20 sprays on day three of wearing it, which I fortunately wasn’t needing to leave the house that day), and even then it wasn’t enough to fully overcome this formulation’s insipid character. For the more faithful-to-the-original formulations, of which I fortunately have an EdT and extrait of, top marks indeed. For this new formulation... I can only hope one day Vol de Nuit will be found. Cue the Amelia Earhart jokes, I suppose.

Wow...just wow! To me, this is perfumery perfection. Stemming from a different timeline. Effortlessly and endlessly beautiful. Last decade I’ve been traveling back and forth between designer, niche and indie. Always looking for ‘that one perfume’. During that period, I always thought (after trying many) that ‘vintage perfume’ was not my cup of tea. Although I could appreciate them, they never suited me. Until I tried Vol de Nuit a couple of weeks ago...and now I feel like I have found ‘my long lost love’ again. This perfume evolves and evolves, revealing itself bit by bit. Like an elegant lady who knows what she’s worth. She doesn’t need to prove you anything, but she will reveal her deepest secrets, if you show sincere interest in her. She is not afraid to show her scars and that’s what makes her so strong. This nightflight is almost too gorgeous to describe. In terms of notes I’m also not going to try. But it does smell as calming and as sensual as a summer night. Vol de Nuit is actually very wearable for me. Even though it reminds me of the smell of my sweet grandmother a bit. So definitely some feelings of nostalgia too. But it doesn’t smell dated, or modern for that matter. It smells timeless. As if time stood still that night. It also smells very natural somehow. I don’t get any synthetics on my skin, while I’m very sensitive to that. And I easily get 5+ hours out of this. No massive sillage, but subtle wafts of a dreamy scent. And I think it was supposed to smell like that: airy and dreamy. And that’s exactly what I’m getting, so I consider myself lucky. I would also say that I think you need some life experience to be able to wear and understand Vol de Nuit. No age/gender whatsoever. But life experience: yes. It is, imho, for the ones who live through their pain, and observe it, in stead of identifying with it. And whose heart is big enough to embrace it all. This is what perfumery is all about. Vol de Nuit has a soul. And I am truly grateful to have found this mesmerizing beauty. Somehow it smells like Guerlains best kept secret. And she has been patiently waiting for me to discover her, like a self confident, loving woman would do. Midsummer night’s dream comes to mind too. And I think I should leave it at that...

Vol de Nuit will always have a place in my rotation. It is a memorable fragrance. Spiced green galbanum and citrus are combined with beautiful narcissus, jasmine, and assorted woods. It is a stunning fragrance that is blended very well. It is difficult to pin down with a description of scent notes. Scent note listings can immediately give us valueable information. For instance if you do not like the smell of galbanum, then you will probably not like Vol de Nuit. But that is not a hard and fast rule. Fragrances are to be experienced with our nose and not our eyes. Two perfumes may have the same scent notes but smell entirely different. I also have the extrait of Vol de Nuit which is also beautiful but different. I have had both since 2021. When I first wore Vol de Nuit, I was on the fence about it. I liked it okay and could appreciate it, but I wasn’t sure about it. This summer I spent some quality time with this Guerlain beauty. I wore it in the evenings during my quiet time at home. It was then that I really began to understand Vol de Nuit. It is a complex fragrance that takes the wearer on a journey. It needs time to be appreciated. It is not the sort of fragrance that you put on and run out the door expecting in your face performance. After several days of being mesmerized and captivated by VdN, I decided it would be a beautiful fall fragrance. Today is the 1st day of September and I will be in the passenger seat with Vol de Nuit taking the airways. I get several hours of performance from it. I have decanted part of my bottle so I can carry it with me for reapplication. I recommend two or three sprays initially. If you have long hair you can also spray your hair. Vol de Nuit is not a mouse of a fragrance though so you’ll have to work out the performance for yourself. To my nose Vol de Nuit is nothing like L’heure Bleue. I have LB in both the EDP and EDT. I do not understand the comparison at all. Even looking at the scent profiles on Fragrantica, one can see that they are completely different fragrances from Vol de Nuit. Do not buy either one thinking they will be like the other. Both VdN and LB are unique fragrances and desererve to be treated as such.

Not sure why this says 2021. This particular bottle design is 2021, but this spicy green velvet fragrance is definitely from 1933. I was strictly a L’Heure Bleue fan for years, but this bottle of VdN was my first foray into this Guerlain masterpiece. After watching The Muppets with my niece and seeing Miss Piggy wearing her pearls next to the propeller bottle of VdN I bought the closest thing I could afford. This may be a new batch, but I’ve since bought vintages to compare and while the IFRA has all but demolished the use of everything but synthetic notes: THIS IS GORGEOUS. It smells the same as the previous bee bottles, only slightly more green and a little longer longevity. I’ve found that VdN in anything other than the Extrait doesn’t have massive sillage (even the Extrait quietly wafts with movement), but the EDT is a quiet beautiful and WARM hug. It starts off with the spicy green galbanum sprinkled like a warm rain with bergamot. It quickly moves to a lush green resinous powder that smells absolutely elegant and regal. This particular bottle and formulation gets 6-8 hours on my skin and clothing before I have to lean in and really sniff to get to it. It stays close to the skin, but sparkles like green fairy dust from a forest nymph getting ready to go to a midnight party in the woods. Thierry Wasser is a master of reformulation and keeping the heart of these masterpieces as close as possible to the original and he did this one right. This is slightly better than the bee in my opinion although with VdN I reach for and buy any bottle my little wallet can afford. As Miss Piggy said “Moiiii?”. Yes Miss Piggy...moi too. 😂

This new version of Vol De Nuit EDT is miles apart from the earlier EDT in the bee bottle. I have both, and it is, at least in the opening, like two different scents. The new version is airy, ephemeral, theoretical almost, while the bee bottle version is machine like, crude, and earthy. Where the new version bears resemblance with vintage Chanel no. 5 at first, the bee bottle version makes you think of alcohol based wind shield washer fluid. The powdery flowery dry down is more similar in the two versions I own, but still quite far from each other in quality (the new version being more complex and nuanced). To be fair, the bee bottle version is perhaps closest to the narrative of VdN, in going towards the smell of metall and motor vehicle fluids, but the new version captures the scent of night better, with wafts of cold humid air traced by flowers, greenery and dust settling down after a busy day in the city. I tend to wear the new version by day though, since it is in a master class of its own, and the bee bottle version before bedtime, because its mechanistic simplicity is strangely comforting.